


April Fools' Day?

by justjoy



Series: In The Shoes Of Hitsugaya [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: April Fools' Day, Gen, Humour/Crack, In which Hitsugaya takes revenge, One Shot, Pranks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-17
Updated: 2010-05-17
Packaged: 2017-11-07 09:08:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/429310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justjoy/pseuds/justjoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hitsugaya Toushirou: taichou of the 10th Division, youngest shinigami to achieve bankai, embodiment of a heavenly guardian. But what happens when he deals with real life? A couple of oneshots detailing the everyday life of everyone's favourite child prodigy.</p><p>[snapshot, one: In which disasters are averted, and it is dangerous to introduce concepts to Matsumoto.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	April Fools' Day?

Hitsugaya walked into the division headquarters, plagued by a distinct sense of unease. He told himself, firmly, that the feeling was unfounded – only to retract that statement a mere minute later when he entered his office.

It was only due to his quick reflexes that he was able to freeze the stream of water falling from a bucket above the door, clearly meant to drench him as he entered the room.

Hitsugaya was contemplating the glittering cascade of ice, which still hung in mid air, suspended by the part of it that was in the bucket, when he heard a groan behind him. He turned around just in time to see his fukutaichou wake up from where she had been sleeping on the couch, yawning loudly.

She looked surprised when she saw him standing beneath the frozen bucket of water. Was it his imagination, or did her expression also contain some disappointment?

The cogs in Hitsugaya's mind began to whirr, putting the pieces of the puzzle together. He wasn't known as a genius for nothing, after all.

"Taichou!" Matsumoto exclaimed.

 _I definitely didn't imagine the disappointment just now,_ he thought decidedly, scrutinizing her.

Something was clearly off. "Matsumoto, why are you here so early today?" _And without a hangover,_ Hitsugaya added silently.

The fukutaichou gained a sudden resemblance to the proverbial deer in the headlights. "Er… well, I decided to make a fresh start today, so I came to work earlier! Yes, that's it!"

Her voice was too cheery. Not even a drunk Matsumoto sounded like _that_.

"Matsumoto." The taichou held back a sigh. "You look like you've been sleeping on that couch all night."

"No, of course not! Why would I do that – ah, fine, I slept here last night." She wilted under Hitsugaya's stare, before suddenly brightening again. "But that was only because I wanted to be the first to wish you a happy April Fools' Day!"

He had barely even opened his mouth to ask what _that_ was when she began to sidle towards the exit. "I'll go back and change, taichou. Be back in an hour!"

And with that, his fukutaichou disappeared.

_April Fools' Day?_

Hitsugaya gave up, finally letting out a long sigh as he banged his head softly on the desk.

_For things like this, I presume there is only one person to ask… although I suspect he it is the one and the same person who told Matsumoto about this in the first place._

* * *

Ichigo was on his way to Karakura High when a shadow suddenly appeared beside him. "Toushirou!"

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou!" the person beside him fairly growled, moving to block his path. "So, Kurosaki, I have a question for you. What is April Fools' Day?"

The shorter of the two hid a near-evil grin as the orange-haired teenager beside him almost tripped over in surprise.

"Oh, _crap_ ," he muttered.

Hitsugaya continued to stare unblinkingly at Ichigo.

This time, it was the teen's turn to sigh. "What did Matsumoto do this time?"

"A bucket of water above the door. I managed to freeze it on time, though." He treated the substitute shinigami to an icy glare as his suspicions were confirmed. "So you _did_ tell her about it."

"Well… I didn't mean to," Ichigo replied nonchalantly. Then he took in Hitsugaya's expression of supreme annoyance. "I shouldn't have told her, should I?"

The taichou didn't even want to answer _that_ , for fear of accidentally killing his only source of information – other than Matsumoto herself, of course. Unfortunately, although Hitsugaya trusted Matsumoto to do many things well, there were two things he found her completely unreliable for: running the division, and giving information.

He mentally cursed both of them. _Kurosaki,_ he thought, _you are_ so _going to pay for this._

When he spoke, his tone sounded light, but possessed a certain edge to it that promised a world of pain to those involved. "You haven't answered my question, Kurosaki."

Hitsugaya paused for maximum effect, making sure to enunciate each word clearly.

"What. Is. April. Fools'. Day?"

Ichigo gulped.

* * *

Precisely fifty-five minutes later, Hitsugaya was back in his office, starting on the paperwork for the day. He felt Matsumoto's reiatsu near the office door six minutes later.

 _And in three…_ he counted the seconds… _two…_ from her step, he guessed that she was just _slightly_ hungover... _one._

The door flew open. "I'm back, tai–"

_SPLASH!_

Hitsugaya marvelled, for a brief and satisfying moment, at his fukutaichou's remarkable resemblance to a wet dog in this state.

He spoke just as Matsumoto began to splutter. "I decided to reciprocate the _favour_ ," Hitsugaya emphasized the word, continuing to read the report that he was holding. "April Fools' Day is indeed a happy day, isn't it, Matsumoto?"

"What – what do you mean, taichou?" She put on the most hurt and pitiful face that he had seen so far. "How could you assume that _I_ put the bucket of water there just now?"

Hitsugaya sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Especially today. "That is for you to wonder, and for me to know," the taichou replied, gesturing towards the neat stack of paperwork next to him.

The temperature seemed to drop at least ten degrees as Matsumoto went to pick it up. Or maybe that was just the cold wind that had started in the room.

She shivered. "It's _cold_ , taichou!"

He looked up at her briefly before going back to his work, contemplating his response. Finally, he shook his head. "I don't agree. Besides, it will keep you awake." Hitsugaya suppressed another mischevious smile. Revenge was _fun_. "Get to work already."

Matsumoto grumbled to herself, but reluctantly grabbed the first piece of paper off the pile.

Somewhere at the back of his mind, Hitsugaya could hear the chuckle that he recognized to be Hyourinmaru's. He agreed heartily with the zanpakutou.

_Happy April Fools' Day indeed._


End file.
